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Friday, August 03, 2012

MADISON [Wisconsin] - Craig Carleton Hill,
age 59, passed away peacefully in his sleep on Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012,
at Agrace HospiceCare in Fitchburg, after a brief and courageous battle
with lung cancer.

Craig was born on Oct. 23, 1952, the son of Jerry and
Berdine Hill, and grew up on the south side of Madison with the
Arboretum as his playground. He attended Central High School until its
closing in 1969, graduating from West High a year later but always
thought of himself as a Central High alum and a Southsider through and
through. After high school, Craig enlisted in the U.S. Navy, serving
aboard the USS Enterprise during the Vietnam Conflict. He was a lifetime
member of VFW Post No. 1318 and a 35 year member of the International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local No. 159 as a master electrician.
He was thankful to have had the opportunity at the end of his life to
spend the last few months traveling with his family and was proud to
complete his lifelong goal of visiting all 50 states. Craig was an avid
outdoorsman, who especially loved hunting and fishing. He will be
eternally grateful to Mud and Helen Lee and their family for sharing
their cabin with him during deer season for the past 47 years. In 1979,
he married "his best pal" Peggy Polk at Olbrich Botanical Gardens. His
first son, Jeremy (Becca Hayward) of Chicago was born in 1983, followed
by Hunter (Amanda Fath) of Madison in 1985. He was always very proud of
"his boys'" achievements.

He was survived by his wife; his sons;
sisters, Linda Hill of Madison and Maren Hill of Stoughton; his brother,
Jay (Chris) Hill of Madison; sisters-in-law, Mary (John) Witte, Judy
(Gary) Weimer, Theresa (Paul) Streib, and Anne (Bruce) Andrysczyk;
brothers-in-law, John (Nancy) Polk, Jim (Sue) Polk, and George (Peggy)
Polk; and too many aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews to list.
He is also survived by his faithful hunting partner, Mollie, his English
Springer Spaniel. He was preceded in death by his parents; his maternal
grandparents, Emil and Alice Reinholtz; paternal grandparents, Stan and
Helen Hill; his uncles, Don Spaith, Stan Reinholtz, and Stan Hill;
brother-in-law, Mark Hlavek; in-laws, Glenn and Ruth Polk; niece,
Bridget Polk; and previous Springer Spaniels, Famous and Babe.

A
Celebration of Craig's Life will be held at GUNDERSON FITCHBURG FUNERAL
HOME, 2950 Chapel Valley Road, Fitchburg, from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m., with
a short service at the end of the celebration, on Sunday, Aug. 5, 2012.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the family in order to
fund the beautification project on the Southside. Gunderson Fitchburg
Funeral & Cremation Care 2950 Chapel Valley Road (608) 442-5002

Originally published in the Wisconsin State Journal on August 3, 2012 (submitted by Michael Vahldieck, Class of 1968)

Craig Carleton Hill is a Madison Central High School alumnus because he
attended CHS for several years prior to transferring to West because
Central closed in 1969.